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Yorkshire Terriers are the third most popular AKC dog breed in America. Their small size, beautiful flowing coat, adaptable nature, and big dog attitude makes them an idea dog for all types of homes, from city apartments to country farms. They fit in with active families, as well as single human households, the young and restless, and the elderly living a quiet life. They are happy to be pampered lap dogs or active members of a family.
Although I have seen many a Yorkie site stating they are not suitable for families with children I have not found this to be necessarily true. However I do advise families with small children to find a breeder that has average sized or larger Yorkies for sale , not the smaller ‘teacup’ (per se) size and wait until the puppy is at least 9 weeks old before bringing it home. A Yorkie puppy with an estimated adult weight of 7 to 10 pounds will do just fine in a family situation with supervision of small children handling the puppy until it has grown to a size where it can fend for itself. I find that the larger Yorkies tend to be of much better temperament, less nervous, healthier, and more outgoing than the tiny ones, and a puppy that is estimated to be a larger adult should cost less as they are over the AKC standard but just right for an active family dog.
As for ‘Teacup Yorkies’ ... There is no such breed, a Yorkshire Terrier is a Yorkshire Terrier and sizes vary from 3 to 10 pounds. Many breeders today are striving for the smaller size because buyers are wanting dogs under the AKC standard of 4 to 7 lbs thus ‘teacup’ means small. Do be aware that breeders breeding for show are NOT breeding their stock for undersized adults. Show quality Yorkshire Terriers are bred for conformation, coat quality, and AKC standard weight of 4 to 7 pounds with 4 lbs being the minimum and 7 lbs the maximum allowed show weight. A Yorkie weighing less than 4 pounds may be adorable but it may also cost more in future vet bills as they are more apt to have health issues. Remember a 4 to 7 pound adult dog is a very small dog! Also your Yorkie will weigh what you feed it so a 5 pound two year old can become a 10 pound blimp if over fed and under exercised. Personally I hope the trend for smaller Yorkies fazes out before this beautiful breed is compromised. It took years of selective breeding to develop the breed standard as we know it today.
